Which kinds of Social Safety Net Transfers Work best for the Rural Ultra Poor? Dhaka, 03 December 2013 Christa Räder Representative

Sustained economic growth - +6% pa Poverty and food insecurity also continue to decrease BUT 50 million are poor, ~30 million extreme poor (2010 HIES) 60 million food insecure, 30 million severely food insecure (2005 HIES) 41% of children <5 are stunted, 36% are underweight, 16% are wasted (2011DHS) Economic growth alone is not enough, need pro-poor growth & more investment in social protection AND Nutrition interventions in the first 1000 days Country Context

GoB: strategy of pro-poor growth, and growth with equity Vision 2021, the Perspective Plan and the Sixth Five Year Plan (FY2011-FY2015) The allocation for Social Protection Programmes increased from 1.3% of GDP in 1998 to 2.5 % in FY Actual allocation (BDT) increased over FY and FY , but percentage to both budget and GDP has decreased Social Safety Nets  Around 90 SSNPs in Bangladesh (social protection & social empowerment sector)  30 major SSN programmes = 97% of the value  50% food, 50% cash  But: 30% targeting error (WB 2006 report SSN in BD) National Social Protection Strategy

Draft shared by Planning Commission, GED, November 2013 “The long-term vision is to build an inclusive SPS for all Bangladeshis that effectively tackles and prevents poverty and rising inequality and contributes to broader human development, employment and economic growth”.

Priorities for Social Safety Net Reform  Decrease the number and duplication of SSN programmes  Move towards a life cycle based SPS for poor and near poor  Improve targeting and effectiveness, reduce leakage  Move towards cash based transfer systems (indiv accounts)  Achieve better balance between different types of SSNs for rural and urban areas  Advanced monitoring and evaluation systems  More effective disaster response system.  Focus on graduation out of extreme poverty??  Nutrition sensitive SSNs– first 1,000 days??

Creating an Evidence Base: Transfer Modality Research Which kinds of social safety net transfers are most effective for the rural ultra poor? Under which circumstances? For which outcomes?  Income, Food Security, Child Nutrition Explore different transfer modalities - i.e. food or cash Explore innovative approaches Intensive Nutrition Training Mobile banking for cash transfers

Creating an Evidence Base: Transfer Modality Research Which kinds of social safety net transfers are most effective for the rural ultra poor? Food? Food & Cash? Cash? Cash & Nutrition BCC? Food & Nutrition BCC?